Visor Magnifiers - Which lens!

Bill Satko

Member
Messages
3,209
Location
Methow Valley
Anyone have any experience with visor magnifiers like this:

_Magnifier.jpg

What I am specifically looking for, is what focal length should I get. I plan to use it for sharpening my back saws. I probably need a lot of magnification, but the trade off is the focal length becomes smaller, which means your head needs to be closer to the work to bring it into focus.

The chart below is what is available in lenses.

Pwr = magnification power and FL = focal length.

. No . . Power. . FL
. .2 . . 1.50 . . 20"
. .3 . . 1.75 . . 14"
. .4 . . 2.00 . . 10"
. .5 . . 2.50 . . .8"
. .7 . . 2.75 . . .6"
. 10 . . 3.50 . . .4"

I am thinking no. 4 or 5, but do not have any idea. All help would be appreciated.
 
Do you have Bifocals yet Bill?

I got some recently and they BiFocals are 1.5's. Not sure what focal length, but I got them so I could see far and read my cell phone without taking off my glasses. For me, the comfortable distances for reading up close seems to be about 12".

I don't need glasses to read the computer screen, but I need them to see anything much farther than that, and the bifocals come in handy.

I have used a visor like that for doing some Mother of Pearl inlay work on my guitar heads. I don't know what they are, but they were pretty cheap and came with a number of different lenses and I just use what I need depending on the work.

Some things I need to be way up close, somethings not so much.
 
Hi Bill.....I don't know much about sharpening saws, but I do know about focal length......so it depends on how far from your eyes you will be focusing on the sharpening...my guess would be #3 or #4....just pretend you're sharpening and measure that distance you need to see. When I use those for other tedious work, like sewing, I choose #3 or #4 mainly because if it's much closer, it's hard to get enough light on the subject between your eyes and whatever you're doing....I hope that helped a little. :eek:
 
Something else to think about...

http://www.amazon.com/Ledu-L745BK-Fluorescent-Magnifying-Swing/dp/B000RWJ1QK

I've got one out in the garage and it comes in handy for all types of things, particularly picking out splinters...

The light can add a lot of help you can't quite get from the visors...

41s6xw2F0lL._AA300_.jpg
 
Do you have Bifocals yet Bill?

Not yet, but I do have reading glasses that I occasionally use. I have a pair of safety glasses with magnification (1.5 or 2.0) on the lower portion of the lenses that I use in the shop a lot, but they are not powerful enough for the saw filing. Those teeth are very small!

I choose #3 or #4 mainly because if it's much closer, it's hard to get enough light on the subject between your eyes and whatever you're doing.

I have a light like the one that Brent shows, so light will not be a problem.

Bill, we have used these http://www.doneganoptical.com/optivisor.php basicly forever at work and I have a pair in my shop and a pair in my truck for Larry. Lens depends on how close you like to be to what you are doing, the larger the number the closer you get. I have a number 3 lens as a spare but use the number 5 lens and have for 30+ years:thumb:

Thanks Tom, I am going to try the #5 and see how that works. I can always get a different lens later.
 
Why not ask your optometrist about it? I would find out which is the distance and stance I'm more comfortable sharpening those saws first and then look for the appropiate lenses that would allow me to maintain it.

One can get a sore back or neck without even noticing because unadvertedly you change your stance to see better and maintain it for long time.
 
Bill, I recently used mine to sharpen my miter box saw, and it was great. I can't recall the mag, but I'll check later and get back. I used these for years at work, and they helped me a lot
 
Bill, mine have a magnification of 2.25 and a focal distance of 8". I wear them over my glasses, which are graduated lenses. This worked really well, along with a bright light, to sharpen my miter box saw. YMMV.
 
visor magnifiers

Bill, I have one that I use in my work and it does help in certain situations.
I'm a locksmith by trade,and sometimes the smallest of details in this business
can and does make the biggest difference. I use it mainly when doing key impressions and fitting keys to a lock to open them, and all the clarification
and magnification we can get is really important here. I think mine has #10
power lens, but it has been in there for 10 or 12 years and I can't remember for sure. These opti- visors are a big help when it is needed for sure.
 
Top